BOB vs BOE

mercop

mercop

Joined
Mar 26, 2002
Messages
4,940
Most are familiar with phrase BOB or Bug Out Bag. I prefer BOE or Bag Of Evil. When I think about a BOB I envision a big old pack full of everything that someone could imagine they would ever need for any and all emergencies and situations. It is kept in the house, garage or trunk of the car. The BOE is a bag full of things that you are likely to need everyday. Things you need everyday are likely to need even more in an emergency.

You live out of your BOE. You know what is in it down to pens and tape. Unlike the BOB you carry the BOE everyday, everywhere and it is seldom outside of arms reach. In fact I have a Glowring on mine so I can find it when the lights are out. Because you carry it everyday you are less likely to fill it with a bunch of “just in case of” stuff that adds weight. There needs to be room in your BOE to add stuff that you pick up along the way or is mission essential.

Right now I am in the process of reviewing the Mission bag from SoTech so it is the current BOE. Before that I was using the SoTech Go Bag. The first think is to select a suitable bag that meets your needs. Don’t just grab whatever is the flavor of the day or kewl. I stopped using backpacks most of the time a few years ago when I realized that about 90% of the time I was only using on strap and not wearing it as a backpack. I was also in the car a lot and backpacks don’t lend themselves well for getting stuff in and out of in the car. Now most of the time I prefer sling bags. If I am going to be dismounted for any period of time I will use my old school Eagle AIII which is my opinion is one of the best 3 day packs ever made.

After selecting a bag and the contents I like to sub-load using Pelican Micro cases and zip lock bags for everything that should not get wet. This also makes it easier to transfer stuff if you need to switch bags. You can also take a different colored mercleashes or just pieces of parachute cord to ID things. I use a red one for FAKs so I can send anyone to my bag to get it in an emergency. Another word on bags is to find a happy medium between one big open bag and a bunch of small-specialized useless pockets.

Just some food for thought.

Here is some more info from my site. I have now started carrying the Becker Tac Tool in the BOE as well.
 
Got it from two close friends of mine who are on the NYPD. Most cops call them war bags. We carry everything in there from powerbars to spare ammo. Sometimes unauthorized things are carried like 32 round magazines for our Glock 19s. Anything unauthorized is evil and kept out of site in your Bag of Evil.
 
Which SoTech bag did you prefer and why? I was looking into getting one but couldn't decide.
 
Mercop,

Welcome aboard! Glad you're here! Guys, I have great respect for Mercop's knowledge, and asked him to please get his butt over here and participate. He has been-there-done-that, and is a helluva nice guy. Check out his site. Listen to what he offers - he will not B.S. you and he's been through the wringer and speaks only from hard-won experience.
 
Well I keep 2 bags of evil good to go; one has the gear the other has the non essentials like MRE's, TP, extra clothes, etc in it. Just chuck your pack into a duffle bag and it's out of sight out of mind to thieves when in your vehicle too. I chuck it down behind the drivers' seat and toss some random junk on top.
 
mercop,

welcome, i very much enjoy your website and the well thought out knowledge you give of so freely.i also enjoy your wise cracks in tactical.

thank you

BOE is a dearly needed and insightful concept
 
Thanks, hopefully we can meet face to face some time. Folks have told me that that I am the same in person as I come across in the forums. The way I look at it, if you aren't having fun phuck it. I have also heard that I am fun to go to a bar with. My wife keeps telling me that people are not put on earth for my amusement. I tell her they are.
 
Mercop,

I'm happy to see more people find the Eagle A-III one of the best if not the best pack ever made.

Great to read your posts here. Very cool concept behind the BOE. When I see that, I think Board of Education because of my job. Now, I'll never look at those same 3 letters ever again the same way!

Again, very right on post!
 
For some reason people give a sh*t what I think. I get lots of e-mails asking my thoughts on techniques, training and tools. That is where a lot of my posts come from. Read my post in Prac Tac on Charlie and Nick to see where I am coming from.

Soon I am going to start taking one of the questions people e-mail me and answer it on video and put it up on the site.
 
"Bag of Evil" - I like it! Good concept and absolutely spot on for many of us I would imagine. Certainly is for me.

That's basically how I do it. My job takes me all over the place, roughly in a hundred-mile radius from my home. I sell, plan, install and maintain computer networks and servers to schools, colleges etc. Although I have a fair amount of kit in the car, it's always been in my mind that most of the time I'm not in the car with it and in a worst-case scenario, I might not be able to get back to the car or the car is stolen.

I very often need to carry a laptop and/or tool bag, but can't really carry anything too 'tactical' looking when I'm dressed in a suit trying to sell a network solution to a panel of school heads.

A little while ago I found a really big IBM laptop bag. It holds my laptop, basic tools (I bought some better, more compact ones than my work-provided ones), uplink cables and notepads, with a fair bit of room to spare. The bag reminds me of a more PC-looking, bigger version of the Maxpedition MPB, which I considered but it wasn't quite big enough for the widescreen laptop. It even has a water bottle pocket that unfolds from the side, and loops for gear attachment!

Anyway, this bag now goes everywhere with me when I'm working, from sales meetings to climb-inside-the-server-cabinet type jobs. I'm still refining what I carry, based on evaluation of what I might need, but just having the tools (including knives and flashlight) is a good start.

One day I'll get around to taking some photos of the stuff.
 
I have taken your advice Mercop and have tried a BOE for some months now. I do alot of traveling in my job and need a bag anyway. Its been great and there's no telling how many times I have reached for it needing mundane items. But I also know of the other things I keep in there that are great in an emergency. It really is practical once you get what you need in and keep what you dont need out.
 
Thanks, the list on my site has served me well on patrol, off duty, traveling with the family and for training. I used to carry around a decent tool kit until I realized there was not much I could not do with my Leatherman Juice S2.
 
I have a table at the Valley Forge show this weekend. A customer sliced the pad of his thumb good by holding on to the sheath as he drew the blade. Several other customers comments on how fast I had my FAK out, cleaned him up and squared it away with some Dermabond. Took well under a minute. Gotta have certain stuff within arms reach.
 
Nice going mercop! It made me shiver when I read 'holding on to the sheath' - I could actually feel it. One too many cuts I suppose...
 
mercop said:
.The first think is to select a suitable bag that meets your needs. Don’t just grab whatever is the flavor of the day or kewl. I stopped using backpacks most of the time a few years ago when I realized that about 90% of the time I was only using on strap and not wearing it as a backpack. I was also in the car a lot and backpacks don’t lend themselves well for getting stuff in and out of in the car. Now most of the time I prefer sling bags
Click to expand...
Although it doesn't detract from your point at all and of course it is up to the individual, I find the backpack to be far superior to any sort of sling bag. To fully realize this though, one has to find himself forced to hike a few miles or ride a bicycle with a sling bag vs. a back pack.

You are right of course in the every day to and from the car, a sling bag is better, but for walking any distance (or just having to stand in a line for a long time) a sling bag sucks monkey balls compared to back pack. :)
 
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